YOUNG adults in England have some of the worst levels of literacy and numeracy in the developed world, a shaming international survey revealed ­yesterday.

Tory ministers blamed the last Labour government for the lull in literacy [GETTY]

Youngsters aged 16 to 24 ranked behind Estonia, Poland and Slovakia for both reading and writing, ­according to the Organisation for Economic Co?Operation and Development.

England was also the only country in the developed world in which adults aged 55 to 65 were better at reading and arithmetic than the youngsters.

Business leaders expressed deep concern last night.

Tory ministers blamed the last Labour government, which was in office when the overwhelming majority of the youngsters grew up.

The rankings were based on tests set by the OECD.

England was ranked 22nd for ­literacy and 21st for numeracy in a league table of 24 nations.

English youngsters were also ranked below average for “problem solving in a technology-rich environment”.

Tory skills and enterprise minister Matthew Hancock said: “This shocking report shows England has some of the least literate and numerate young adults in the developed world.

“These are Labour’s children, educated under a Labour government and force-fed a diet of dumbing down and low expectations.

“For years, Labour and the unions were told that their approach was damaging children’s life chances, yet these warnings were ignored.

Britain's children are struggling to keep up at school [ALAMY]

These are Labour’s children, educated under a Labour government and force-fed a diet of dumbing down and low expectations

Tory skills and enterprise minister Matthew Hancock

“We are fixing the problem with a more rigorous curriculum, better teaching, higher standards and tougher discipline. True to form, every single one of these reforms is opposed by Labour and their union bosses. They can never be trusted with ­children’s ­education again.”